Heartbeat
by lucocat
Summary: Ward waits for the reassuring sound of Skye's heart beat


**Disclaimer – this is a fan _fiction_ and should be read as such!**

**I can't believe the number of emails I have had over the past few days in response to my other two A.O.S. stories – thank you very much to everybody who has taken the time to review my stories or favourited them!**

**This is just a little filler until the next episode is aired – totally out of character and context but hey, it's called fiction for a reason!**

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It was almost as if she was making a game out of it, every time the doctors had Skye stabilised, she crashed again within the following few hours. They told the team there was only so many times her body would tolerate being dragged back to life, eventually it would succumb to the massive trauma and there wasn't anything that the medics would be able to do.

One brave doctor had queried the team, _"Wouldn't it be better to let her pass now rather than later? Why drag this out any longer than need be?"_ Never had one man be happier that he worked in a medical facility alongside some of the best trauma surgeon Shield had ever employed. If the looks he got from Skye's friends weren't bad enough, each of them was determined to tell the doctor exactly what they thought of his suggestions on letting Skye die without someone putting up a fight on her behalf. Simmonds stepped towards him lifting her hand at the same time, if it hadn't have been for the quick intervention by Fitz the doctor would have sported a rather red handprint on his cheek which no doubt would have had the entire team barred from the hospital itself.

Coulson sensibly regained control of himself and the situation informing the doctor that he and his team were dismissed from Skye's case; if he doubted their ability to provide the best possible care for her their services were no longer welcomed. Anyway Coulson had put a plan in place during the early hours of Skye's surgery, and now was the time all elements would start weaving together. The doctor and his medical team who had tended to Skye on her arrival were now superfluous to requirement and would be replaced within the next 30 minutes.

Ward, who had not left his post outside Skye's room, continued staring at the heart monitor which had become a focal point for him. He heard the conversation going on around him thinking how Skye would see the humour in the situation had she not been in her current predicament. He knew she would find having so many people fighting over and for her an uncomfortable experience but equally would laugh at the murderous look Fitz sported whilst telling the doctor exactly where he could shove his stethoscope when he dared suggest it would be better for Skye to pass, which had made Simmonds cry harder than she already had been.

Ward didn't understand why Coulson was dismissing the medical team who had kept Skye alive so far. Whilst his hackles had been raised by the arrogance the lead doctor exuded, he had been impressed with his technical abilities which were continually being tested by their resident hacker. He knew that Coulson had sent for two people, Dr Streiten and Agent John Garrett; Ward wasn't clear on the actual specifics, he had been put on mission readiness status 2 hours previously and was awaiting further instructions.

Coulson had outlined the bare bones of his plan, Simmonds would remain at the hospital with Dr Streiten both of whom would be charged with keeping Skye alive long enough for the team to return. Whilst Coulson didn't completely trust Streiten after his own experiences, he knew that he would be easy to manipulate such was his guilt at the 'Tahiti incident'. Coulson had made the good doctor aware of the need to keep Skye alive, and impressed upon him the consequences of failing to do so. The doctor was to ask no questions about the actions the team were undertaking, he was answerable to nobody but Simmonds during the time Coulson would be out of contact with him.

Coulson revealed he had found out about a serum he believed was Skye's best chance at survival; Ward didn't understand the complexities of how it worked in relation to Skye's condition but he did take away that if the mission was successful and all elements came together, Skye would have a better chance of survival than if left in the hands of conventional medical care. Ward would be infiltrating the Shield controlled facility alongside Agent Garrett, a man he knew only by reputation alone, as being the antithesis of everything Shield had instilled in Ward. He worked against a system that Ward held in high regard, something that he would willing overlook if Garrett was as good an Agent as his reputation was to be believed. Coulson and Fitz would provide technical support for the two man team and run interference for any situations that may arise outside of the mission parameters. Agent May was being sent to interrogate Ian Quinn before Shield could swoop in and spirit him away, Coulson wanted answers and May was more than willing to get them.

4 hours later Ward, Garrett, Coulson and Fitz ran out of the elevator and straight towards Skye's room; Simmonds had been in contact with Coulson 30 minutes previously to inform him that Skye had crashed again and it took some considerable effort to bring her back to the land of the living. She rather forcibly informed her boss that if the team needed more than 2 hours more, the mission should be aborted now so everyone could come to the hospital to pay their last respects to Skye, as neither Streiten nor Simmonds expected she would survive another revival. Coulson had ordered Simmonds to keep Skye alive whilst at the same time Ward and Garrett were diffusing a bomb connected to an obscene amount of C4 explosive.

Mission completed the team members raced to the hospital to deliver the serum to the hands of the waiting doctors who would hopefully administer it to positive effect.

May arrived outside Skye's room moments after the four man team did, just in time to watch Doctor Streiten administer a significant amount of serum into Skye's I.V. line. Not knowing what to expect, Ward kept his focus on Skye's heart monitor the only indication he presently had that she was still living. His hands were clenched into tight fists, his fingernails digging into his palms drawing more blood from his already battered body courtesy of the bomb exploding just as Garrett and he made it out of the building they had infiltrated. After what seemed like an eternity, Ward turned to the remaining team members – nothing had changed, Skye was still in the same prone position she had been.

"_Sir, what happened? Was it the wrong serum? Why hasn't Skye responded?"_ He didn't know what to expect, he wasn't naive enough to think that one injection would magically cure Skye of all her ailments but he did expect some sort of sign that her body had responded.

Coulson, who had also been expecting something to happen, was at a loss to answer Ward. _"I don't understand, maybe it takes time or maybe she needs more but we'll..."_

Coulson was cut off mid sentence by the blaring of alarms from Skye's room and watched as Simmonds and Streiten frantically worked on her; the team watched as Skye's body was shocked and arched itself off the bed, they could see the tears in Simmonds eyes as she helped coax her friends body back into the here and now. All the while Ward watched the heart monitor, willing it to start blipping again – never had a straight line been so offensive to him. His own eyes had become blurry, watering out of frustration and pain; the more he blinked them the fuzzier his vision became, Ward could no longer see the straight line of the machine no matter how hard he tried to focus.

Blip - - - blip - - - blip

Ward may not have been able to see the jagged lines of the heart monitor, but finally he could hear the reassuring sound signalling that Skye's heart was still beating.

An hour later the team sat in the waiting area, too tired to stand any longer, when Simmonds and Streiten appeared before them. They reassured the team that Skye was indeed still with them, that her prognosis had significantly improved and she was responding normally to all the standard brain function tests. The serum appeared to be working, repairing the damage her internal organs had suffered due to the massive blood loss and harm caused by the two bullets inflicted at close range. It was still early days, but both doctors were confident Skye would make a speedy recover free from complications.

Simmonds told the team they could visit with Skye and then should head to the accommodation block to sleep; the doctors hoped she would have an uneventful few hours and that the team would see real progress when they returned. The team spent a few moments with her, assuring them that Skye was on the road to recovery before leaving and heading for some well deserved rest. Streiten had nominated himself to watch over Skye whilst Simmonds slept, assuring them that he would call if there were any significant changes in her condition.

Ward returned to the accommodation block with the others, bade them a goodnight before dragging himself off to the showers; 30 minutes later he was back outside Skye's room staring hard at her heart monitor.

"_Agent Ward?"_ Dr Streiten was walking down the corridor with a clip board in his hand; he had expected the team to return after a few hours just not this quickly.

"_I needed to check she was ok, that there were no adverse effects from the serum."_ The fatigue in Ward's voice and face was hard to miss, his words were slightly slurred due to the lack of sleep and mission fuelled adrenaline wearing off steadily.

"_She's fine, getting stronger every time I check on her. You can go in and sit with her if you like, take the weight off your feet."_ Streiten was concerned that the Agent before him might end up collapsing from exhaustion and he didn't wish to face the wrath of Phillip Coulson for having another Agent out of commission.

"_No, I'm fine out here; I'll be heading back to the accommodation block soon and will return with the others shortly." _Ward wasn't sure he could face the deafening silence of Skye's room, and the guilt for having allowed this whole situation to happen was again raising its ugly head and threatening to swallow him up whole.

"_Actually Agent Ward I'm glad that you are here, I am hoping that you could sit with Skye for a while, I need to order a few tests and medications for the next few days and would prefer it if someone stayed with her whilst I do so. For some reason, most of the medical staff here are reluctant to step foot in this room without reassurances that they won't be harmed."_ Streiten could easily have ordered the tests and medication from his tablet, but he knew having a familiar presence may provide some comfort to the young woman who was currently unconscious but still alive despite the odds stacked against her.

Hesitantly Ward entered the room and walked towards the chair that was placed beside the head of Skye's bed and threw himself upon it, taking in his surroundings. It was a sparse room, devoid of colour and personality; he imagined Skye would describe it as 'Shield issued functional', at which point he snorted out loud.

Being in her presence again brought him a calm he hadn't experienced for a few months; he pulled his chair closer and grasped Skye's hand, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles one at a time. After a while, he felt his eyelids beginning to droop and rested his head against the back of the chair listening to the steady blipping of the heart monitor, content that Skye was still with him. During his rapid defeat to sleep he felt her hand twitching in his grasp and some of her fingers squeezing lightly against his; he tightened his grip of her hand and quickly fell asleep with a smile on his face, to the sound of Skye's steady heartbeat singing in his ears.


End file.
